The Rapid City YMCA Youth Institute is a program for teens in 7th-12th grade. At its core, Youth Institute is about giving teens the opportunity to develop creative media skills (such as Graphic Design, Filmmaking, and Photography), nurture life and character skills (leadership, team work, job prep, college prep), and discover meaningful friends and connections in a supportive community all along the way.

Our program was the first YI program to be established outside of California. We started in 2012 with about 12 teens. Now our Rapid City Youth Institute has over 100 teens who have been apart of the program over the years. The 2019 summer program is from June 3rd-July 26th and is a full 8 weeks. Applications will be available starting February 1st, 2019. During the school year it is an after-school program for teens who have completed the summer program.

In August, we also offer the YI Mobile Camp: a 1-week mobile camp that jumps into the basics of Youth Institute skills using a smart phone or tablet!

What is the Youth Institute?

Youth Institute

Summer Program

The summer program runs for 8-weeks, June through July. The first week is a camping trip. The remaining weeks are Monday-Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm.

Teens will learn the basics of programs such as: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign as well as how to write, film, & edit a movie, learn better photography skills, work as a team, and build deep friendships.

Each summer we accept 25 teens who are going into 7th-10th grade.

Teens can apply to come back for a 2nd or 3rd summer and continue to develop their skills in higher ranks!

2018 Summer Youth Institute

At the end of each summer program we take a select group of teens on a special reward trip! This past summer we went to Denver, CO. We took a tour of the Colorado Film School, did some team building exercises at a Ninja Warrior gym, went to the Denver Zoo, and spent a day at Six Flags and Elich Gardens!

School Year

During the school year, the Youth Institute exists as an after school program for teens who have completed the 8-week summer program.

With the skills they learn, teens are able to come back for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th years to continue to improve and learn more, as well as use those skills to get Perspective jobs!

Teens are encouraged to come and continue to develop their skills learned during the summer program as well as learn new ones!

We do lots of fun projects and go on field trips throughout the school year. To keep up with our most current projects, check out our Youth Institute Facebook page!

Teens will learn the basics of programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, as well as how to write, film, & edit a movie, learn photography skills, work as a team, and build deep friendships.

Teens can apply to come back for a 2nd or 3rd summer and continue to develop their skills!

Each summer we accept about 25 teens who are going into 7th-9th grade.